Funaria hygrometrica
Funaria polaris
bonfire moss, common cord-moss, funaria moss
northern funaria moss
smaller proximally, distal leaves 2–4 mm, deeply concave, oblong-ovate to broadly obovate distally, acute to apiculate or short-acuminate, entire or weakly serrulate distally;
costa subpercurrent to short-excurrent;
distal laminal cells thin-walled and inflated, hexagonal or oblong-hexagonal becoming much more oblong proximally.
1.7–2.5 mm, concave, clustered at the apex of the stem, ovate, oblong-ovate to obovate, abruptly narrowed to a short, acuminate tip, margin entire;
costa ending in the acumen, sometimes as a minute reflexed apiculum;
distal laminal cells hexagonal to rhombic-hexagonal, becoming elongate proximally, little differentiated at the margins.
usually (12–)20–45(–80) mm, slender and flexuose, usually hygroscopic.
8–15 mm, flexuose curved to cygneous or sigmoid, hygroscopic.
2–3.5 mm, pyriform, asymmetric, curved to straight, horizontal to pendent or merely inclined or nearly erect, becoming sulcate when dry below the strongly oblique mouth;
annulus revoluble, operculum slightly convex;
peristome brown, papillose-striate proximally and papillose distally, strongly trabeculate, becoming appendiculate distally, forming a lattice by fusion of the tips;
endostome segments lanceolate about 2/3 as long as the teeth, yellowish, finely papillose-striate.
1.5–2 mm, pyriform from a short neck, generally pendent from the strongly curved seta, mouth oblique on the weakly curved capsule, somewhat sulcate when dry and empty, annulus revoluble, operculum scarcely convex;
peristome inserted below the rim of the mouth, teeth lanceolate, golden brown basally and hyaline at the tips, trabeculate and scarcely striolate papillate basally, weakly appendiculate and nearly smooth in the hyaline portion;
endostome segments smooth, short and blunt extending from a narrow basal membrane less than 1/4 the length of the exostome.
cucullate, smooth.
cucullate, rostrate, smooth.
mostly 12–21 µm, finely papillose.
18–23 µm, very finely papillose.
Funaria hygrometrica
Funaria polaris
Varieties ca. 20 (2 in the flora).
Funaria hygrometrica is one of the most common, weedy, and widely distributed mosses in the world; its distribution closely parallels that of Bryum argenteum. It is widely illustrated in textbooks to demonstrate the life cycle of a typical moss, possibly because of the abundant conspicuous sporophytes produced and its frequent presence in greenhouses. However, the peristome with opposite, instead of alternate, teeth in the two peristome rows is clearly atypical among the majority of mosses. Most of the varieties that have been described probably do not merit recognition because of the morphological plasticity of the species in response to environmental conditions.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Two small species of Funaria with variously contorted setae, F. polaris and F. arctica, occur at higher latitudes in North America. Both occur on mineral soil, sand, or gravelly sand in moist situations such as river banks but, so far, only the former is known from the entrance of lemming burrows although it has been collected elsewhere. As seen through a hand lens, the two species can be separated in the field by the attenuated leaf tip of F. polaris in sharp contrast to the broad and blunt leaves of F. arctica.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
1. Capsule 2-3.5 mm, horizontal to pendent, curved, capsule neck less tapered, mouth of capsule narrow | var. hygrometrica |
1. Capsule 2-3 mm, inclined to nearly erect, straight or weakly curved, capsule narrowly tapered to a long slender neck, mouth of capsule wide. | var. calvescens |
BC
PNW Herbaria
WildflowerSearch
iNaturalist
USDA Plants Database
